I did a little research for myself you might find helpful. Info bracketed <clip></clip> is unedited quotes from authoritative sources.

<clip>
AD/HD is a medical condition characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequent and severe than would normally be seen in a person's peers.
</clip>

Me to a tee

<clip>
Because of the challenge of distinguishing ADHD from normal developmental patterns and behaviors of adults, including procrastination, disorganization, distractibility, restlessness, boredom, academic underachievement or failure, low self-esteem and chronic tardiness or inattendance, a multifaceted evaluation must address the intensity and frequency of the symptoms and whether these behaviors constitute an impairment in a major life activity.
</clip>

Last year I was on a med (interferon) for HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) most likely contracted 35 years ago doing street drugs. Interferon is notorious for producing "brain fog" or "chemo fog" pseudonyms for drug induced ADD. The gastroenterologist (liver doctor) suspected more was involved with me because of my symptom severity. He asked me if I had any concentration problems pre-interferon. "Life long problem, but not like this" I replied. He then susgested ADD and Ritalin. I refused. Didn't want to become a druggy again.

Why would a liver doctor suspect ADD? ADD is a HCV symptom.

Partial HCV symptom list:

<clip>
A very debilitating and frequent symptom is fatigue; therefore, quality of life is often impaired. Besides fatigue, depression and a feeling of weakness are frequent (see figure 1).
Whether the neuropsychiatric symptoms are specific for hepatitis C is not yet quite clear: Forton and colleagues demonstrated that patients with hepatitis C experience difficulties in concentration and memory.
</clip>

But there is more. Half of my gastroenterologist's patients are ex-druggies my age. HCV is a slow acting virus. It is not uncommon not to know you have it until it kills you. Being parsimonious saved my life. I was trying to get cheaper life insurance and that is how the HCV was discovered. <sarcasm>Blood tests can dectect HCV hence it qualifies as a "real" disease. Thank God I got at least one real disorder.</sarcasm> My gastroenterologist knows something about EXdruggies. Many were unknowingly self-medicating for something that was causing them a lot of pain. He is on the lookout for that "something." He recommended I talk to my family doctor about it. I did not.

Let me write a little code for you.

If ADD=True and HCV=True and BrainFog = True Then TOTALLY_DYSFUNCTIONAL_ADDPROGRAMMER = True

I became entirely unable to function and could not work for over a year. We lost over 80K in savings and home equity and eventually would have lost everything if I did not see my family doctor who recommended a shrink who put me on Ritalin that the gastroenterologist wanted to put me on a year ago.

<clip>Often people assume that students with learning disabilities are unmotivated and unintelligent. Many question whether these students can succeed in college. In reality, students with learning disabilities are not intellectually limited nor are they unmotivated.
</clip>

Me to a tee

<clip>
As the public and professional awareness of AD/HD increases, the number of students who have been identified and treated for this disability is increasing. AD/HD often appears with other neuro-biological disabilities. Like other students with disabilities, those with AD/HD may have frequently been misunderstood. They often try to control their symptoms and appear as if they have no disability. To avoid being embarrassed, they try to keep up with everyone else. This can cause poor academic performance, low self-esteem, difficulty in relationships with peers, depression and/or anxiety, substance abuse, and procrastination.
</clip>

If ADD_RELATED_DIFFICULTIES = True Then
INTENSE_EMOTIONAL_PAIN = True
End If

If INTENSE_EMOTIONAL_PAIN = True Then
DESIRE_FOR_RELIEF_BY_ANY_MEANS = True
End If

Moral of the story: If you suspect your child has ADHD, get him/her the medical help needed before it is too late.

If you suspect you have ADHD, for God sakes go see a doctor - an ADHD specialist. I never would have the discovered what was ailing me on my own. I am smart. But NOT that smart. See a %@*$ doctor now. You are not going to do it searching the net. Half (or more) the stuff you hit is BS.

addprogrammer

PS for geeks only. My illustrative code is pseudocode. Here is source code for a function that will actually work:

BOOL IsADHD(TCHAR* pYourSymptoms)
{

const TCHAR* const ADHD_SYMPTOMS =
TEXT("persistent pattern of inattention and//or \
hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequent and severe \
than would normally be seen in a person's peers");

if(strcmp(ADHD_SYMPTOMS, pYourSymptoms)==0)
return TRUE;

else
return FALSE;

}

Ok, that was fun. Now I gotta write a little code that someone will pay me for.